The first English-language translation of the great Italian author's final collection of essays. Collection of Sand is the last of Italo Calvino's works to appear during the author's lifetime--now available for an English-reading audience. This eye-opening collection embraces both the world and the word, and the themes of stone and sand implicit in the title are evident in many of these essays. Calvino applies his graceful intellect to the delights of the nature, in essays on subjects ranging from cuneiform and antique maps to Mexican temples and Japanese gardens. Collection of Sand is an incisive and often surprising meditation on observation and knowledge, the difference between the world as we perceive it, and the world as it is. "To read [Collection of Sand] is to enter the presence of an exceptionally fervent and fertile mind . . . A brilliant collection that may change the way you see the world around you." --The Guardian